Adjustable kitchen cabinet construction



Dec. 4, 1956 P. OCULATO 2,7725938 ADJUSTABLE KITCHEN CABINET CONSTRUCTION Filed April 11, 1955 INVENTOR PATSY OCULATO.

ATTORNEY United States Patent G ADJUSTABLE KITCHEN CABINET CONSTRUCTION This invention relatesto construction.

The invention pertains mainly to kitchen sinks but it an v adjustable kitchen cabinet is equally applicable to other kitchen appliances or facili-' ties which are enclosed in cabinets orjlike enclosures. For purposes of illustration, however, the invention will be described solely interms of its application to a kitchen sink but it will be understood that this is not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

Many sinks, especially older sinks, are provided with exposed plumbing. This is anunsightly condition which the present invention remedies. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to its application to old sinks since it is equally applicable to new ones.

The cabinet herein claimed constitutes an adjustable enclosure which is adapted to fit under a sink and to conceal its, plumbing. Moreover, said enclosure performs the function of a conventional cabinet, namely,

' to provide an enclosed space in which various articles may be stored or kept without being exposed to view.

An important feature of this invention is the adjustable and adaptable character of. the enclosure or cabinet herein claimed. It will be understood that since sinks are made in various sizes and shapes and are installed at various heights above the floor, an enclosure for such sinks would necessarily have to be adjustable in various directions. For example, it must be adjustable ,in Width or depth and it must also be adjustable in length. It is also: necessary that it be adjustable in height. The cabinet or enclosureherein claimed is adjustable in all these respects. I i Another important feature of this invention is the adjustable support which the cabinet enclosure herein claimed provides for the sink. Sinks are commonly in stalled against a wall. Suitable brackets are provided on the wall to supportthe back of the sink. The front of the sink also requires support and this is sometimes provided in the form of a pair of posts which support the two front corners of the sink.

' l The present cabinet or enclosure provides an adjustable support for the two front corners of the sink. includes a pair of vertically adjustable corner members Qabove the floor.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

V Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the several 2 components of a sink enclosure 01' cabinet or the like made in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section therethrough showing the parts in assembled condition.

Fig. 3is a fragmentary, enlarged top view of one of the corners of said enclosure.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing asink enclosure or cabinet made in accordance with this invention and installed under a conventional sink.

Referring now to Fig. 1 of the drawing it will be observed that the enclosure or cabinet herein claimed includes a baseboard 10 and a pair of extension pieces 12 and 14 respectively. These extension pieces are pro-,-

vided withlongitudinally extending slots 16 and 18 respectively and it is through said slots that screws 20 may be inserted in order to secure said extension pieces to the base board 10. See Figs. 2 and 3. It will be observed that the slots are relatively long and consequently it is possible to shift these extension pieces longitudinally with respect to the baseboard and with respect to each other. A longer sink would require that these extension pieces be shifted outwardly and shorter sink would require that they be shifted inwardly. In either case, they are disposed behind the baseboard and are not exposed to view from the outside of the cabinet.

The enclosure or cabinet herein claimed also includes a pair of corner members 30 and 32 respectively which may be arcuately shaped as shown in the drawing or provided with any other suitable shape, as desired. These corner members rest upon extension. pieces 12 and 14 but, depending upon the construction of the sink and its height above the floor, said corner mem-' 7 It will be noted that vertical grooves 38 are formed in extension pieces 12 and l4. Corresponding grooves 40 are formed along the .back edges of corner members'30 and 32. "Grooves 40 and 38 are adapted to register with each other when the corner pieces 30 and 32 are placed upon said extension pieces as shown in the drawing. Nails 42 secure the lower ends of corner pieces 30 and 32 to said extension pieces to insure registration of said grooves and also to help hold the parts together. Side boards 44 and 46 are installed with their forward edges disposed within said grooves 40 and 38 and nails or other suitable fastening means are employed to secure said side boards to said corner members 30 and 32 and said extension pieces 12 and14. Cleats 48 are provided along the bottom edges of said side boards 4-4 and 46 in order to adequately support them on the floor and nails may be driven through said cleats to secure the structure to l the floor. Additional cleats 50 maybe provided along the back edges of said side boards in order to secure, them, if desired, to the wall of the room against which the sink is disposed.

The main or front panel or frame of the enclosure p or cabinet herein claimed is provided with a central opening and a pair of doors 62' and 64 respectively. These .doors may be hingedly mounted'on the front panel 60 T so as to swing outwardly in order to open the cabinet or they may be slidably installed therein in overlapping rela-' tion for slidable movement either leftwardly or rightwardly as the case may be. It will be observed that four notches 66 are provided in front panel or frame 60, these notches being formed in the sides of said panel or frame, one at each corner thereof. Screws 68 may be inserted through s-aidmotchestoattach the front panel .orframe '60 to the corner membersfii) and 32 as is clearly shown in'Figs. 2.and.-3. Thesenotches 66are relatively'deejp to permit of'lateral adjustment .of saidfrontpanel or frame ti cal support members relative to said corner members '30 and 32. These support'members areadapted to fit under sin'kfiflor any other open type "sink, immediately behind the 'front apronor flange 82 and in the corners where said front apron or flange meets the side aprons or flanges 84. These corner supports are not open to view when the entire enclosure or cabinet herein claimed is installed, as shown in'Fig.-4. 7

The foregoing is illustrativeof a preferred form of this invention and it will be understood that this preferred form may be modified and other formsmay be provided within the broad spirit-of the invention and the broad scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. An adjustable enclosure or cabinet of the character described, comprising a baseboard, a pair of extension pieces adjustably securedto the ends of said baseboard, a pair of cornerpanels mounted on said extension pieces, a pair of side boards secured to said corner panels and extension pieces, a front frame adjustably secured to said cornenpanels, and a pair of vertically adjustable supports secured to said corner panels at the upper ends of said corner panels to support a sink or the like on said cabinet enclosure, said extension pieces being longitudinally slotted and secured to said baseboard by means of screws extending through said slots and engaging said baseboard, said front frame'being provided with a plurality of slots in its side edges, said slots extending horizontally, and screws extending-through .said'horizontal slots and engaging the corner panels to securefsaid front frame to said corner panels, said supports being provided with longitudinally and vertically extending slots and screws extending through said-slots ancl'engaging'the corner panels to secure said supports'to said corner panels. 7

2. An adjustable enclosure or cabinet in accordance with claim 1, wherein the corner panels are provided with vertically extending grooves along their back edges and said extension piecesarepr ovided with vertically extending grooves which register with the grooves in the corner panels, the frontedges of the side'of the Sideboards 'being disposed within said registering grooves in both the corner panels and .the extension pieces.

3. An adjustable enclosure or cabinet in accordance with claim 1, wherein the front .frame consists of an upper horizontal member and a lower horizontal member .and a pair of vertically extending side members secured at their ends to the ends of said upper'and'lower members, a pair of doors beingprovide'd within saidfront frame to serve as closure mernbers for the cabinet enclosure.

References'Cited in thefile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,050,617 Litner Aug. 11, 1936 2,202,107 :Korn May.28, 1940 2,664,258 Lanier. Dec. 29, 1953 

